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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



March 16, 1905. 



H. G. Sibbald; First Vice-President, R, H. Smith; Second 

 Vice-President, F. J. Milkr ; Secretary, W. Couse, of Streets- 

 ville; Treasurer, M. Emigh; Auditors, J. L. Byer and Jos. 

 Thompson; Inspector of apiaries, Wm. McEvoy, of Wood- 

 burn; Assistant Inspector, F. A. Gemmill; Committee to 

 revise report, H. G. Sibbald and Morley Pettit; Committee 

 on transportation, H. G. Sibbald, R. F. Holtermann and Wm. 

 Couse. 



As the next place of meeting, Toronto was chosen. 



^ 



Report of the Vermont Convention. 



BY W. G. LARSABEE. 



The 13th annual meeting of the Vermont Bee-Keepers' 

 Association was held in Middlebury, Jan. 12, 1905. 



The meeting was called to order at lo' a. m. by Pres 

 ♦ ram. Reports of secretary and treasurer were read and 

 adopted, and Pres. Cram appointed the following committees : 



Resolutions— J. E. Crane, H. L. Leonard, and Mrs C 

 M. Rice. 



Nominations— V. V. Blackmer, G. C. Spencer and P 

 E. Crane. 



Then followed a discussion led by J. E. Crane on the 

 benefits derived by bees fertilizing flowers of all kinds, which 

 was participated in by others. 



G. C. Spencer then gave a talk on how to produce honey 

 free from travel-stain. He thought travel-stain was caused 

 more by using old combs than any other way. Mr. Crane 

 prevented travel-stain by using a honey-board with en- 

 tr?nces to the supers only on the sides and ends of the hive. 



W. G. Larrabee then spoke on the production of comb 

 versus extracted honey, as did many others. This discus- 

 sion brought out the fact that honey would not be poisoned 

 by being stored in galvanized-iron tanks. 



The question box was opened by V. V. Blackmer, and 

 several questions asked and answered. One was, "Is it any 

 advantage to give bees water in the spring before they are 

 able to fly?" Answer, no. 



It was then voted that the 3rd article of the Constitution 

 be amended so as to make the annual dues 25 cents instead 

 of 50 cents. 



Reports of committees and election of officers was the 

 first on the programme at the afternoon session. The nomi- 

 nating committee nominated the old board of officers, and 

 they were duly elected, as follows : 



President, M. F. Cram; Vice-Presidents, for Addison 

 Co., G. C. Spencer; for Orange, C. B. Fisk; Lamoile, E 

 K. Savery; Chittenden, C. M. Rice; and Rutland, V N 

 Forbes. Secretary, W. G. Larrabee of Shoreham ; Treasurer, 

 H. L. Leonard. 



Mr. Leonard then read a paper on the sources of sweets 

 of the country, in which he gave the sources of Vermont 

 honey as follows, in this order from spring to fall: Poplar, 

 willow, soft maple, rock maple, horse plums or wild plumsi 

 apple and fruit blossoms, dandelions, raspberry, clover (in- 

 cluding alfalfa), basswood or linden, buckwheat, smartweed 

 and goldenrod. 



Mr. Leonard also read an article from Gleanings, on 

 how to tell if there will be a honey-flow next year. Others 

 snoke on the causes of flowers secreting or not secreting 

 honey. Mr. Crane said that a thunderstorm would reduce 

 the flow of honey even if it did not come nearer than 30 

 miles. Prof. Seeley said that if red clover could be produced 

 with a tube half the length of the present one, the amount 

 of honey and clover seed would be increased millions of 

 dollars. 



Mr. Forbes being absent, others spoke on his subject. 

 Labor-saving conveniences in the bee-yard and honey-house." 

 Mr. Holmes advocated the use of bee-escapes in taking off 

 comb honey. He also spoke on the causes of the heavy 

 winter loss in 1904. He thought the long, severe winter, 

 combi ed with other things, was the cause. Mr. Cram thought 

 the heavy winter loss was not caused by the severe winter, 

 or by the honey the bees had to consume, but by the condi- 

 tion of the bees themselves, and said the advantage^ of cellar- 

 wintering were 10 pounds less honey to the colony, less 

 labor to out in the cellar than to pack out-of-doors, less 

 spring dwindling, and more perfect wintering. 



Mr. Crane said the advantages of outdoor wintering were 

 the opportunity to have a flight in winter, better spring pro- 

 tection, and earlier brood in spring. 



G. W. Fassett then spoke on controlling increase. 



The question-box was opened again, and this brought out 



a talk about the gypsy or brown-tailed moth, and it was 

 thought It was not liable to be injurious to the bees or their 

 forage. It was also stated that more alsike clover seed was 

 sold by the dealers than either the red or mammoth varieties. 

 The question, "Will it pay to feed bees in the spring to 

 induce brood-rearing?" was answered by Mr. Blackmer, yes; 

 by others, no. 



"Do bees gather more honey from white than alsike 

 clover?" The general opinion seemed to be that more was 

 gathered from alsike than from the white. 



It was voted that the Executive Committee fix the time 

 and place of the next meeting. 



The treasurer's report showed a balance of $10.55. 



The Committee on Resolutions submitted the following: 



Resolved, That a vote of thanks be extended to the 

 proprietor of the Addison House for favors shown. 



Resolved, That a vote of thanks be extended to the 

 Rutland Railroad Company for reduced rates. 



This meeting was very interesting and profitable, and 

 was quite well attended. W. G. Larrabee, Sec. 



————— =^ 



X)octor Znillcr's 

 Question = Box 



J 



Send Questions either to the office of the American Bee Journal, 

 or to Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo, 111. 



Bees Storing Water-Melon Juice. 



My bees had access to a great many water-melons last 

 fall, ,'nd I think they stored considerable of the juice. They 

 nov have dysentery. 



1. Would the use of the melon-juice cause dysentery? 



2. Can I do anything for them before warm weather? 



Ohio. 



Answers. — 1. Most likely. 



2. A flight is their hope. Most likely there will very 

 shortly be a day warm enough for it. If in the cellar, take 

 them out the first day they will fly, and if it is still, and the 

 sun shining, you will find they will fly at 45° in the shade — 

 possibly at 40 degrees by your thermometer, for thermome- 

 ters vary. Then put them back in the cellar the same day or 



the next. 



< . » 



Putting Bees Out Early— Largest Average Yield- 

 Prevention of Swarming. 



1. I often see it stated that bees should not be brought 

 out of the cellar too early in the spring. In what way 

 would it be any more injurious to them to do so than to the 

 ones that are out all winter? 



.2. What is the largest authentically-recorded yield of 

 honey from one colony of bees in one day, and also for one 

 season? 



3. How was the colony manipulated in the above in- 

 stance ? 



4. Would it be too personal a question to ask what your 

 average and also your largest (colony) yield was for 1904? 



5. When you secured 300 pounds of comb honey from 

 one colony how did you manipulate it, and how long was the 

 flow on, or, rather, how many days were the bees engaged 

 in gathering it ? Was it all from one hive, or from one colony 

 and its increase? 



6. On page 186 of "Forty Years Among the Bees" is a 

 plan to prevent swarming, called the "foundation plan." On 

 page 188 you say that the plan worked well for the first 

 two years, but not so well in 1902. Would you mind stating 

 how it worked during the seasons of 1903 and 1904? 



7. I keep from 10 to 15 colonies, but never get much 

 honey — from less than nothing to about 30 pounds. I have 

 the records of my wonderful "manipulations" of some of the 

 colonies from June 1, 1903, to the present date. I would 

 be "leased to send some of them to you if you think they 

 might be of benefit as a warning how not to do it, and to 

 show me when I made blunders. Pennsylvania. 



Answers. — 1. I don't know that I can give an entirely 

 satisfactory answer. Experience has shown that bees taken 



